HOT PHINGAZ Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Hi, I know this gets discussed all the time, but the ballpark changes with different product launches.. So, on a budget of 5 - 7k ish, which desk for a University theatre, with a range of professional and student users,on a variety of different types of show? Its a mixed rig, with a bunch of MACs, we may also be investing in some LED wash gear, poss GLC impressions or Robin 600's, and Hippotizer. Currently we're using a Congo in this space, but am thinking of putting that in Jam mode and sending to the live music room with a load of presets on faders. Mainly cause not many people can use it in the theatre, and Im not a huge fan myself.One space or the other needs a new console, and the music studio needs easy presets on a fairly fixed rig. We've also got a Z88 Orb, which runs one of our other spaces, but its limited in some ways - I cant seem to get it to run multiplecue lists without re-setting the previous stack to Cue 1 for instance! - so am considering the following options: ETC ION is probably the main one we're considering, but Ive used a bit before and had a bit of trouble with chases, effects etc.I like MA but I dont think we can afford it, would want an ultra-light probably. Any other ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bleasdale Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 You may be able to get an ultra light MA 1. The Eos/Ion/Gio consoles would be a good fit I think. I would go for MA in this situation as they are getting to an industry standard point so the students will encounter alot after they leave. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 I would go for MA in this situation as they are getting to an industry standard point so the students will encounter alot after they leave. Are they?I can't speak with a huge amount of experience if I'm honest BUT from the talk I hear, whilst the MA consoles are indeed popular, the ETC Ion/Eos in particular are fast approaching the top of many theatre lists. And speaking of the Ion, whilst I'd agree that the FX sections can be a little unusual, once you get your head round the principles they're actually very easy to use - especially with the VERY versatile on-screen manipulation of movers etc. As a new Ion user, I can't recommend it highly enough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmeh2 Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 You may be able to get an ultra light MA 1. The Eos/Ion/Gio consoles would be a good fit I think. I would go for MA in this situation as they are getting to an industry standard point so the students will encounter alot after they leave. Thanks. Hi You'd be hard-pressed to get an UltraLight for 8k. Also not too convinced that they're industry-standard... On new installs maybe, however I'd expect there are more Strands and ETCs out there in theatreland than MAs. All the bestTimmeh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peza2010 Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 im with ynot on this one.as a lighting engineer on a theatre tour that doesnt tour a desk (its not my fault :( haha) I would say the top 3 desks I come across are the Ion/Eos, the congo/Jr and lots of strand gear. as ynot says, the fx engine does seem very strange to start out with, but it doesnt take long to get your head around it.I dont rate the "inbuilt" fx much, but with a bit of playing around they can look good. Peza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiffy Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 MA's are probably the standard now for Concert Touring, and some TV. They are popular in Theatreland too, however I would suggest that the Eos is likely the best choice for a University Theatre. The National Theatre, The Royal Opera House, and The ENO and ENB are all Eos houses. Cheers Smiffy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOT PHINGAZ Posted July 29, 2011 Author Share Posted July 29, 2011 MA's are probably the standard now for Concert Touring, and some TV. They are popular in Theatreland too, however I would suggest that the Eos is likely the best choice for a University Theatre. The National Theatre, The Royal Opera House, and The ENO and ENB are all Eos houses. Cheers Smiffy cheers smiffy thats the most convincing answer yet.. , and thanks to all.. I think it probably will be ION (same O/S as EOS(?)) as we can afford, and I think its the closest thing to a Strand 520 etc with normal commmand line? ps just to clarify, its a congo Jr. I'm talking about- Interesting to hear they're in a lot of theatres, I thought they weren't v popular amongst the strand set with the RPN syntax? Its not v popular with me anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiffy Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Have a look at Gio too. Launched last week, not on the site yet, have a chat with ETC about it though, http://www.theatreface.com/photo/etc-gio?xg_source=activity#!/photo/etc-gio?context=user Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peza2010 Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Interesting to hear they're in a lot of theatres, I thought they weren't v popular amongst the strand set with the RPN syntax? Its not v popular with me anyway!Amusingly a lot of the theatres that have recently swapped from strand tend to have a post it note stuck to the board with the syntax on! Haha. I think I'm used to it because I dont get into the habit of one particular board... I just make a mental note that it's a "xxxxx" desk, so the syntax is this..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bleasdale Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Are they?I can't speak with a huge amount of experience if I'm honest BUT from the talk I hear, whilst the MA consoles are indeed popular, the ETC Ion/Eos in particular are fast approaching the top of many theatre lists. And speaking of the Ion, whilst I'd agree that the FX sections can be a little unusual, once you get your head round the principles they're actually very easy to use - especially with the VERY versatile on-screen manipulation of movers etc. As a new Ion user, I can't recommend it highly enough! Industry standard was probably an incorrect term to use. My appologies. However it would be more accurate to say that MA has a huge market share nowadays, and Theatre or not, the students would be bound to come across one sooner or later when they leave. After all, not every person on this course will go into Theatre, alot will become all rounders etc. So whilst the Eos family is good, I thought MA would be a better console for the job as its growing so much. Plus you call some of the larger hire companies in the UK... 2 desks almost all will have will be Avolites and MAs, some still with Hogs. You'd be hard-pressed to get an UltraLight for 8k. Solaris listed some at 8000 Euro to 10,000 Euro. So Solongs they would be happy with a series 1, which I think would be fine then it wouldn't be that hard on cash. As a regular Eos family user, I would say they are a good fit too, but it would be worth looking at some others too. Considering you are controlling Movers and Media in there, it may be worth getting a console more feature packed purly so the students understand other concepts and features that are not available in the Eos family. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhole Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 We've also got a Z88 Orb, which runs one of our other spaces, but its limited in some ways - I cant seem to get it to run multiplecue lists without re-setting the previous stack to Cue 1 for instance! Hi, Something's not quite right there. Could you email me a show file and we'll look at solving this issue for you? Alternatively, give me a call - my number is in my signature below. I might be in techs, but leave a message and I'll call you back. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlin24 Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Jands Vista with the new V2 software on it will do everything you want and a load more and importantly it will be within your price range. Have a look at www.jandsvista.com and have a look at the product page for the I3 console. If you have any questions give me a call via the details in my signature. Or PM me on here. Happy to sort out a demo for you. Best RegardsAndy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOT PHINGAZ Posted August 2, 2011 Author Share Posted August 2, 2011 Hi Andy, well now you've thrown a spanner in the works.. the Jands, huh?I will have a look. Student friendly and with a view to giving students industry experience? Answers on a postcard please.. Joe - agree with all comments, just not sure I can get a user-friendly MA1 for my price, but dont worry I'll go for a quote! Hi Jon, I think that the console problem is the user, so I will call you. My point in mentioning ORB was more to say we've got one already,actually its a great desk and I had a group of visiting schoolkids programming scenes very quickly.. hope the prob is me then.. Smiffy - thanks for the Gio heads up.. good to see theres still a range of views in the market! Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grahame Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 I'm with Ynot and Smiffy on the Eos/Ion as well; and just to add to his list, all ATG theatres in the UK are now running EOS consoles. If you want something that students are going to come across in theatre-land, that would be the one to go for. I've rarely seen a GrandMA in theatre, unless it's been brought in to control lights and Catalyst/Hippotizer video stuff. Jands and Hogs are practically exclusive to concert venues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Robinson Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 +1 to ETC. The Sheffield University Drama studio has an Element, which seems to work well (on the occasions I've used it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.